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Sphinx And The Cursed Mummy
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a third person action adventure game developed by THQ. It was originally released on the GameCube, the original Xbox, and the PlayStation 2 on November 10, 2003 (North America) and February 20, 2004 (Europe). It received subsequent releases for mobile devices on August 19, 2004, Steam on November 10, 2017, and most recently on the Nintendo Switch on January 29, 2019. It is rated teen. Plot: The fantasy land of Egypt in which the game is set is in a period of turmoil when we are introduced to Sphinx, one of the main protagonists. He and his colleague Horus are given the task of retrieving the Blade of Osiris, a legendary sword. They are taken to Uruk, "the land of darkness", by their master Imhotep where they eventually find the Blade. Horus is attacked and supposedly killed by a deadly ray that protects The Castle of Uruk, a mysterious building that houses evil. Sphinx retrieves the Blade, but while trying to escape is also attacked by the ray. He is forced to travel to an unknown location through the use of a portal system. Meanwhile, the young Prince Tutenkhamen of Luxor celebrates his birthday. His older brother, Akhenaten, captures him and performs a bizarre ritual that turns him into an undead mummy. Sphinx arrives and interrupts the ritual, causing Tutenkhamen and Akhenaten to be teleported to The Castle of Uruk. Sphinx learns that fragments of Tutenkhamen's soul are stored in Canopic Vases, and takes on the task of recollecting them to restore him to his former self. In the Castle, Akhenaten gloats that the recent events were nothing but a minor setback. We then learn that "Akhenaten" is in fact the dark god Set in disguise, and that the real Akhenaten was mummified in the same way as Tutenkhamen to allow Set to assume his form. However, because of Sphinx's actions he cannot disguise himself as Tutenkhamen. Sphinx and Imhotep devise a plan to use the Mummy/Tutenkhamen's immortality to their benefit; a single Canopic Vase is able to bring him to life for a short while, but he still remains practically dead allowing him to safely venture the trap-riddled Castle of Uruk, as nobody has ever done before. Imhotep creates Bas-ket, who can sneak inside the castle to deliver the Vases to the Mummy. Throughout the story, the Mummy exploits his inability to be killed to survive the traps and retrieve valuable items to aid Sphinx in his quest. In return, Sphinx finds more Canopic Vases over the course of the game and uses Bas-ket to send them to his undead ally. During his time in Heliopolis, Sphinx learns that the god Anubis has caused great suffering to the people of the land; most prominently, he cast many of them into stone statues. Sphinx's heroic nature appeals to Anubis, and gradually allows him to free the people from their stone curse. However, the tasks given to Sphinx become more dangerous over time. Anubis asks him to retrieve "Sacred Crowns", immensely powerful objects once used by the gods of Egypt. The first crown to retrieve is the Sacred Crown of Abydos, a land barraged by various disasters and troubles (though not apparent at first, the chaos is the work of Set). Most recently, the Mayor falls very ill and the Crown almost falls into the hands of his traitorous aides. Sphinx is able to save him and in return is rewarded with the crown. Each crown presents a greater challenge for Sphinx than the previous; he battles and defeats the fearsome Geb Queen for possession of the Sacred Crown of Uruk, and the pharaoh of Heliopolis for the Crown of Heliopolis. As Sphinx proves his might to Anubis, the enigmatic god reveals he cast the people of Heliopolis into stone to protect them from the darkness that will soon descend upon Egypt at the hands of Set. The Mummy discovers The Sacred Crown of Set, the final crown, in the depths of The Castle of Uruk. He takes it and this greatly weakens the ray protecting the castle. Bas-ket is able to escape with the crown, but Set catches the Mummy and paralyses him. With all four Sacred Crowns, Anubis is able to Summon Osiris, another god who reveals he and Set were once a single form named Ra. Set, however, became greedy and stole power from Osiris to take over Egypt. Osiris uses the last of his power to transport Sphinx past the defenses of The Castle of Uruk, where he challenges Set for the fate of all Egypt. Set takes on his "true form"; a hideous monster with immense power, but Sphinx is able to defeat him. Set is not destroyed, indeed Imhotep appears and tells Sphinx that this is not in his destiny. Instead, Osiris arrives and forcibly reunites himself with the weakened Set and Ra is formed once again. Ra gives the Mummy the last Canopic Vase, but the Mummy tragically falls and breaks it. The game ends with a cliffhanger as Imhotep states there may be other ways to help Tutenkhamen regain his human form. Reception: Sphinx was well received by much of the gaming community. IGN gave the game 8.5/10, calling it a "fun, challenging action-adventure serving up a semi-non-linear experience complete with huge worlds to explore, difficult and satisfying puzzles, entertaining weapon and item advancements" Category:Action Adventure Games Category:Third Person Shooters Category:Xbox Games Category:Playstation 2 Games Category:GameCube Games Category:Games By THQ Category:Teen Rated Games Category:2000's Games